By Jayden Mies
Freelance Contributor
Special to the Tribune
The Pratt High School girls’ wrestling team has continued to do very well in each contest they compete in. As the season has progressed, the team has seen different girls step up and rack up valuable points when they were much needed. On Saturday, February 1, the Lady Greenbacks traveled to Wichita South where they had a very successful day and were able to claim the team championship title.
In total, 17 schools attended this tournament. This included all the public Wichita-area schools, which are all either 5A or 6A. Other schools included Derby, Buhler, Wellington, and several others.
First, Jadynn Ruddock competed in the 105 lbs. class. Although this class didn’t feature many wrestlers, she performed well and went 1-1 on the day with her win being a pin. She placed second and claimed 4 team points.
Next was Taylor Creadick, the first individual champion for Pratt in the tournament. Creadick made quick work of all three of her opponents in 115 lbs., pinning all of them in under two minutes each match. She improved her season record to 19-9 and scored 24 points for the Lady Greenbacks.
Gabriella Cervantes competed well in the 120 lbs. division for Pratt. She had an overall record of 4-1 with three of her wins being by fall and the last being a close 12-10 decision. Her only loss was to a 22-4 wrestler from Wichita Northwest. She scored a total of 18 points for Pratt.
This tournament proved to be a breeze for Wendy Candia. She competed in the 130 lbs. division, where she went 3-0 with three pins and continued her undefeated senior record. Even more impressive was the fact that she pinned her first two opponents in less than a minute and won the championship match in under two minutes. She tallied 24 more points for the team.
Next, Adreanna Garcia-Pedroza claimed a 3-2 record in a tough 135 lbs. class. One of these was by fall, and the other two were by close decisions. Overall, Garcia-Pedroza score 6 team points.
Brylee Richardson had a solid day in the 140 lbs. division. In total, she went 2-1, losing in the championship match to an undefeated wrestler from Bishop Carroll. However, Richardson collected two pins and 18 team points. Miranda Webb also had a similar day in 145 lbs. She went 2-1 and placed second in her division, losing in the championship to a wrestler from Buhler after a tough battle. She added 16 points to Pratt’s total.
Last was Jade Baker, who wrestled in the 155 lbs. class for Pratt. She did about as good as anyone could do, as she had a perfect 3-0 record with all three wins being by fall. Additionally, her longest match was only 1:22 long. Her first place match was against a 17-5 wrestler, but Baker was able to pin her in under a minute. She tallied 24 team points on the day.
As mentioned before, these performances were enough for Pratt to win the team championship, scoring 136 total points. They beat second place Douglass by 10 points, and Pratt even had three fewer wrestlers competing.
The Lady Greenbacks will look to continue this performance to their next tournament. This will be on Thursday, February 6, when they will make the long journey to Smoky Valley for the CKL tournament.
